1. Field of the Invention
The combined body garment and tote bag construction is particularly adaptable for casual wear or use, as an example, when swimming, at the beach, for sporting activities or when a person is casually attired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A combined body garment and tote bag construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,215 entitled "Article of Clothing" which issued to Bernardine J. Richards et al on Jan. 11, 1972 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,043 entitled "Skirt Convertible Into A Tote Bag" which issued to Max Brument on Mar. 19, 1974. In such constructions each garment is provided with draw strings located at the top of the body garments, rather than at the bottom as in the present invention, to fasten around the waist of the wearer. In addition, the body garments disclosed in the aforementioned patents have not been commercially successful since they are deficient in one aspect or another.
Such articles appear overly complex to be well suited for convenient use. Also the manufacturing costs required are too high to make the product economically attractive; and frequently the several uses to which the articles may be placed are not adequately related to one another or to consumer demands to render the articles sufficiently appealing.
Other prior art patents located as a result of a preliminary novelty investigation in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are as follows: Nilssen, U.S. Pat. No. 1,497,460 of June 10, 1924; Beltz, U.S. Pat. No. 1,505,530 of Aug. 19, 1924; Mahoney, U.S. Pat. No. 2,079,220 of May 4, 1937; Grady, U.S. Pat. No. 2,315,416 of Mar. 30, 1943; Walsh, U.S. Pat. No. 2,344,010 of Mar. 14, 1944; Hahn, U.S. Pat. No. 2,557,280 of June 19, 1951; Bracken, U.S. Pat. No. 2,678,447 of May 18, 1954; Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,697,465 of Dec. 21, 1954; Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 2,755,480 of July 24, 1956; Kashiyama, U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,443 of Jan. 5, 1960; Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,898 of Aug. 16, 1960; Fabanich, U.S. Pat. No. 2,967,306 of Jan. 10, 1961; and Vechesloff, U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,864 of July 5, 1971. While the patents illustrate body garments having multiple purposes, none of such garments have the component parts thereof arranged in a highly and efficient manner as in the present invention to provide a body garment which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and efficient in operation.